400 get flats in Manesar project on disputed land after SC ruling

GURUGRAM: Around 400 buyers of DLF Express Greens in Manesar, which were affected by the Manesar land scam, got possession of their homes between October 2018 and March 2019, over 10 years after they had booked the same. This was after the Supreme Court directed Haryana State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) Limited to expedite the process.

The project was one of three developed on land that was later deemed disputed. In the two other projects, construction hasn’t even begun at ABW Aditya Niketan, while it is halfway through in Anant Raj Madelia. DLF Express Greens was 95% complete at the time of the SC ruling. Consequently, HSIIDC had directed the developer to finish the project and hand over the flats at the earliest. “We’ve finally got possession of our homes, after a wait of more than a decade. Now we hope the external infrastructure around the project also gets developed at the earliest,” said Vikram Kataria, who received possession of his flat last week. The problems of homebuyers are far from over. A team of owners met Rao Narbir Singh on March 22 to press for quick completion of the external infrastructure in the society, but the Union minister disappointed them, saying it was not under his purview. “While we have got possession of our homes, the supporting infrastructure is missing. We’ve approached the developer as well as HSIIDC about this several times and hope the impasse will be resolved soon,” said another homebuyer, requesting anonymity. DLF, when approached on the matter, did not comment.

A further 800 flats are yet to be handed over, what with the verification of buyers by HSIIDC far from complete, making it impossible for these buyers to sell their properties. The process of verification of buyers of ABW Aditya Niketan and Anant Raj Madelia is also under way. “We’re verifying claims of buyers. Once that’s complete, we can move ahead with the rest of the process,” said a senior HSIIDC official. The two other projects are expected to take few more years to complete, said sources within HSIIDC. The industry body will first have to hire an external agency to complete the projects. In March 2018, Supreme Court had reversed the acquisition of over 450 acre of land in Manesar, impacting thousands of homebuyers in three projects. The Apex court had asked HSIIDC to evaluate the claims of homebuyers of all three projects and expedite hand over of flats.